Turnovers, rebounding doom Lady Ads in season-ending loss to #4 OR
OAK RIDGE — Committing 23 turnovers — 17 in the first half alone — while out-sized and out-rebounded would have meant a blowout loss was at hand for most any East Tennessee high school girls basketball team.
Especially giving up such gifts and board superiority to a team as talented as the state-ranked Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats — and at ORHS to boot.
However, Farragut’s talent and determination to win allowed the Lady Ads to almost overcome the wide gap in turnovers and rebounding, forcing seven fourth-quarter turnovers of their own to close an 11-point second half Lady Wildcats lead to just one point, 61-60, in the game’s final 90 seconds.
However, behind a game-high 33 points from senior guard Ayana Porter, Oak Ridge survived and beat Farragut 70-62, ending the FHS season in the Region 2-4A Tournament at ORHS Monday night, March 3. The Lady Admirals, regular season and District 4-4A Tournament runner-up, end their season with a 23-10 final record.
The Lady Wildcats, ranked No. 4 in the latest Tennessee Sports Writers Association poll, improved to 28-3.
Oak Ridge will now host fellow state power Bearden — No. 3 in the TSWA poll at 31-4 as District 4-4A regular season and tourney champion that has breezed to a pair of easy victories in region play — beginning at 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 5.
The Lady Ads actually jumped out to a 7-3 lead before the Lady Wildcats began forcing mistakes. It was 16-12 Oak Ridge after one quarter and 34-27 ORHS at halftime.
The home team built a 51-40 lead midway into the third quarter before FHS trimmed that to 53-48 after three.
Junior wing KJ McNealy led the Lady Ads in scoring with 17. Senior guard Jaci Neubert pumped in four three-point jumpers and ended her Farragut career with 16 points Monday.
Sophomore wing Gabbie VanAcker and sophomore post Trinity Curry each scored 11. Reagan Sheridan added four points, while Anna Corum ended with three.
Annie Priest, three-year starting point guard, and back-up post Kyra Wray, also saw their FHS careers end Monday night as Class of 2025 seniors.
